From fish to sharks, whales and donkeys, poker terminology and animals go way back.
But are these terms still appropriate in 2024? It’s a conversation that player, commentator and all-round poker personality Tiffany Michelle unexpectedly kicked off when tweeting from the Arizona State Poker Championship at Talking Stick Resort this week.
Labeling her opponent in the big blind ‘BB Fish’ - while capturing him on camera - drew the ire of many on social media who consider the term to be derogatory, including the well-known pro (and recent slots millionaire) Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler.
A debate then followed as to whether terms like ‘fish’ are rooted in disdain, or as shorthand labels indicating a player’s lack of experience or knowhow. The fact that the player in question - who bust Michelle in the hand in question - was identifiable on camera was a further issue for some.
'Tapping the glass'
So is ‘fish’ ever an acceptable term to use when discussing a poker opponent? Or is it fine to use as long as they don’t hear you do it? The concept of ‘don’t tap the glass’ to alert the fish that they are, indeed, fish, is an old trope in poker, but there aren’t many other words that come with such conditions; if a group uses a derogatory term only in the absence of the ‘other’ group they’re deriding, can it ever be okay?
Or is ‘fish’ a word so ingrained in poker folklore that it’s here for good? GGPoker’s loyalty program is called the ‘Fish Buffet’, with newcomers labeled as ‘plankton’ all the way up to the more experienced ‘sharks’. As the world’s biggest online poker site, GGPoker doesn’t appear to be putting players off by using these names.
The Twitter/X drama appears to be over for now, with Michelle posting the following:
Happily, any beef with Kessler now seems to be squashed.
What do you think? Was Michelle angling, or was Kessler just feeling crabby? Mullet over for yourself, then drop a line in the comments below.
